Why is the Kenyan showbiz struggling to attract millions of sponsorships?

Kenyan entertainment does not lack talent or many loyal fans, but converting it into cash continues to be a delicate operation. BONIFACE NYAGA looks at why showbiz misses corporate sponsorship despite the numbers.

Corporate sponsorship is the backbone of the showbiz industry. Without the names appearing at the bottom of the posters, the content of the concerts and the showbiz in general would be too expensive for the average man on the street.

Although ticket sales, merchandise and royalties are important revenues, corporate sponsorship is the real money. In the recent past, however, companies have fled the Kenyan showbiz as abandoned lovers. After unsuccessfully trying to showbiz sponsorship, many have chosen to use alternative marketing channels.

Every year, companies allocate billions of shillings to marketing and advertising, but very little money goes to showbiz. Even those who invest in showbiz do so through internally generated concepts like Safaricom International Jazz, Twaweza Live and Coke Studio.

According to an IEG poll titled "What Sponsors Want and Where Will the Sponsorship Dollars Go in 2018", 10 sponsors said that they would terminate their contracts prematurely. They saw dissatisfaction with the way their business was handled.

While sponsored entities focus on the display of sponsors and visibility at events, their customers want more digital and mobile exposure. When asked if they would increase their sponsorship dollars, 47% of the companies surveyed indicated that 47% of them would keep it as is, 20% would decrease while only 33% would increase. About 68 percent of the companies surveyed indicated that they were looking for new sponsorship deals indicating that they were not very satisfied with the transactions in which they were located.

The unfortunate investment in the showbiz has been cited as one of the main reasons for this disappointment. Experts argue that some sponsorship contracts are condemned from the outset.

In addition to producing several hits and being CEO of Decimal, Eric Musyoka has produced numerous advertising gingles and worked with many companies. He argues that many companies, especially SMEs, do not believe in the power to use showbiz for marketing and that is why they do not invest in it.

Most SMEs use musicians for activations just because they see the big companies that use them, not because they understand how to do it. According to him, this trend to use musicians for marketing has been initiated by large US multinationals, such as Coke and Pepsi.

Their investment is however based on research; Before devoting millions of dollars to showbiz, they discover who their market is and what points of pbadion they can use to increase the value of the brand. "In Kenya, most businesses are investing blindly, choosing artists simply because someone loves them." He admits, "As a result, they end up spending millions in events and activations, but never see the profit. Many businesses are struggling to sell a product that no one knows and they are focusing more on selling instead of making themselves known.

Mike Strano is the CEO of Phat Entertainment and has been at the center of countless local and international concerts. He argues that there are many companies that invest in showbiz without any expert advice; it's more a question of ego than a calculated business decision.

Like any other investment, it takes a team of professionals to manage the process; set clear objectives for establishing a work plan to achieve the key performance indicator (key performance indicators). However, when a client becomes a fan of artists as opposed to a business partner, this relationship is doomed to failure. He believes that it is necessary to hire entertainment experts to help companies make the most of their sponsorship offers. He said:

"Brands use points of pbadion for memorable experiences and music remains a major point of pbadion in Kenya. All surveys indicate that music is still a strategic investment. I do not understand why some brand managers find

Maybe the problem is how they calculate their ROI on sponsorships. The biggest benefit to sponsoring an event is the increase in brand value, no sales of tickets or products during the event According to Lenny Ngungi, a local sponsorship consultant, companies still spend for showbiz

He admits however that entertainment players must give value to sponsors for their money have given businesses more channels to gain visibility that is not only cheaper but also more efficient and easier to monitor.

"Even the smallest Your companies like Bonfire Adventures and Bountiful Safaris are investing heavily in showbiz with great results, "he says. "You really have to be creative when you're looking for sponsorship, but not all co-ops agree that everyone has their own marketing strategy. The entertainment industry needs to understand that she is competing for this sponsorship money with other sectors; they must present a better deal. "

Although millions are made each year in sponsorship deals, it is far from what the showbiz industry would do if it cleaned up its act. it is estimated that about 6 trillion shillings will be spent on sponsorship in 2018 with 2.4 trillion shillings spent in America alone.

Although the causes of sport and CSR are major competitors, Entertainment remains a major destination for this money.There is work to be done on both sides of the aisle, because the cooperants will not continue to throw money after the evil.

Of their On the other hand, companies need to make rational decisions based on showbiz research, but entertainment companies need to clean up their act and offer value to their customers, and sponsorship deals must be matched by experts. ui include both ends of the table, to ensure a win-win situation for stakeholders.